Across the street from Philip Johnson's Glass House, is the less well known but no less amazing private residence he designed for a family that is a bit more "livable". The house was designed in 1951 for Richard Hodgson and his family and was restored by Craig Bassam and Scott Bellows of BassamFellows, and now their new home. Richard Hodgson and his wife Geraldine were first visiting the 4.5 acre site, they met a man across the road who asked if they had an architect. When they said no, he offered his services. It was their new neighbor Phillip Johnson.
From the NY Times:
"He designed … [Read more...]

Check out Yayoi Kusama's installation at architect, Philip Johnson's Glass House... Johnson designed the Connecticut house for himself in the 1940's. The installation is her signature polka dots that she has been using since the 50's. Kusama covered all of the walls in the home with multi-sized red polka dots.
She explains, "My desire is to measure and to make order of the infinite, unbounded universe from my own position within it, with polka dots. In exploring this, the single dot is my own life, and I am a single particle amongst billions."
The dots are meant to help the viewer see … [Read more...]

Sorry for the long hiatus, I've been wrapping up all my work here in the city before the kids get off of school and we go into vacation mode! Plus, my family and I moved into our own little midcentury house in NJ this week! I can't wait to share it all with you. It was designed by an amazing decorator in 1958, and it's still completely intact! She is now 90 years old and she's still sharp as a tack and beautiful and amazing, but it's too much for her to live alone in a house. She and I clicked and I really felt like the house reminded me so much of my grandmother and my youth, it felt so … [Read more...]

The architect for Prada’s stores, Roberto Baciocchi's Tuscan home is absolutely gorgeous. The beams in the ceiling, stone walls in the kitchen, the carved knives designed by Baciocchi himself, the circular fur bed, its all just too good! In the entry, Gio Ponti chairs and chests from the 1950s. The abstract wall paintings throughout the house were done by an artist friend. The house is a series of 13th- to 16th-century buildings that Baciocchi combined. He preserved 16th century walls, beams and and 18th century frescos in much of the house, and paired with with modern furniture, velvet sofas … [Read more...]

Last night, while walking home from a party in midtown, we were strolling down 57th street. We stopped in front of the Iconic 9 West 57th, with its huge red 9, and it's sloping travertine facade. Despite the fact that I lived on this block for two years of my life, I never even peeped into the windows. Sometimes we just ignore things that we see every day. Last night, they were doing some kind of painting in the lobby, and I noticed they had a giant Morris Louis covered with tarp to protect it.
The building was commissioned in the 1960s by real estate billionaire Sheldon Solow. It was … [Read more...]